


Frustration Levels

by chibimono



Series: The Other Side Of Awkward Silence [4]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Angsty Schmoop, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-03-15
Updated: 2005-03-15
Packaged: 2017-10-29 21:23:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/324308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibimono/pseuds/chibimono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inui and Kaidoh discuss aggression and frustration as a tactics for winning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frustration Levels

Kaidoh slipped the key into the lock and let himself in. Hearing  
voices from somewhere inside, he called out to let his presence known.

"Ojyamashimasu."

Inui Sadako stepped in the hall and moved toward the genkan as Kaidoh  
removed his shoes and put on the green slippers that were kept there  
for him. Toshi also bounded into the hall and trotted with his gray  
little kitten paws to Kaidoh, rubbing affectionately against his leg  
until he was picked up. The tiny creature was so glad to have him  
home.

"Kaoru-kun, it's so good to see you again," smiled Sadako as she took  
the bag off of Kaidoh's shoulder. "And I'm glad to see that you are  
well. Unlike Sadaharu…" she trailed off with a roll of her eyes.

"I am not ill," Inui chimed in, as he joined them in the hall. At  
hearing his voice, Kaidoh begged to differ. The smooth deep voice he  
was used to was deeper now, and had a bit of a rasp to it. Other than  
that, Inui seemed fine… and as handsome as usual.

"I hear it in there, Sadaharu," his mother chided, turning and poking  
him in the chest with a long, elegant finger. She adjusted her glasses  
and fixed her son with a glare. "I'm not that old that I can't hear. I  
know you, my son, so trust me to know when you are sick."

Inui swatted playfully at his mother's poking hand. "I know my body  
better than anyone else. I know it better than you do, even with you  
as my mother. Now, Kaasan, let me entertain Kaidoh."

With a start, Sadako turned to Kaidoh, who watched the whole exchange  
quietly while petting a purring bundle of fur in his arms.

"Gomen, Kaoru-kun! Look at me! I forgot you were there. You see  
how badly he has me worried? He doesn't take care of himself," she  
continued to fuss. Kaidoh was always surprised at how she could even  
leave him at home alone for days on end as much as she seemed to fuss  
over Inui when she was home.

"Too busy looking after my kohai," Inui shrugged, waving Kaidoh to  
follow him. "Besides, I am not sick." That statement was followed by a  
cough that sounded much like a dog bark.

"I don't care how un-sick you think you are, you aren't going out to  
the library…" Sadako muttered on her way back into the kitchen. "I  
don't know about any other mothers, but I will not let you put your  
education before your health… You can't go to school if you are dying,  
you know…"

Inui chuckled and shook his head. "I love to have her home, but  
sometimes…" opening the door to his room, he ushered his kohai in,  
"It's just better when I'm here by myself."

Kaidoh snorted as he took a seat on Inui's bed, disproving of his  
sempai's ungratefulness towards his mother. But then, Inui was usually  
alone at home, and it was probably just awkward for him to have  
someone home with him, where as Kaidoh would feel awkward to come home  
and not have his own mother there… He scratched Toshi's head  
thoughtfully, and the kitten in his lap purred appreciatively.

Sitting at his computer, Inui brought up several files and graphs on  
his screen. He gave a little cough to clear his throat and turned to  
his kohai. "After jogging with you on Sunday, a thought came to me  
that I would like to explore. I have observed it affect your skill in  
the past, and I would just like to see if there is a way to optimize  
this so that we can use it to our advantage."

"Honto? Optimize what?" Kaidoh asked, his attention leaving his pet  
completely to focus on his sempai.

"At times when Momoshiro or other individuals that provoke you, 96% of  
the time, you respond with somewhat violent aggression. When in a  
match, that aggression tends to lend you strength and, at times,  
confidence. Would you agree?"

Hesitating a moment, Kaidoh then nodded, eyes directed at the green  
slippers on his feet. "Fffshuuu…"

"It is nothing to be ashamed about, really. It's just who you are,"  
Inui said simply. "And if we can find things that trigger this  
aggression during matches, it may add an edge to your game."

"Do you really think something like that will work, Sempai?"

Inui adjusted his glasses and turned back to his computer, looking  
over his charts. "There is a 72% chance that it will. But for how long  
and what effects it may have on you, I have still have to calculate.  
If you are willing to try this, I will begin configuring scenarios and  
compiling information."

Kaidoh shrugged. It would not hurt to give it a try. "Do what you  
whatever you like, Sempai."

Inui's face seemed to light up behind those opaque lenses, like a  
child on Christmas morning, as he turned to his computer again and  
began tapping away at the keys. Kaidoh tried to hide a smile, knowing  
he just made his sempai very happy. He could never understand what was  
so exciting about the collection of data, but Inui enjoyed it  
immensely. If it made Inui happy, Kaidoh was happy with him. Though he  
would not admit to it.

Settling on his sempai's bed so that his back rested against the wall,  
Kaidoh cuddled his kitten. Petting, scratching, rubbing Toshi's belly.  
He mumbled soft words of fondness and affection to the creature, who  
rubbed against him lovingly. It was nice to be able to give  
affection and receive it just as freely. So many people are quick to  
judge, and ever since he was a small child, Kaidoh never seemed to  
give anything but a bad first impression to people. It had gotten to  
the point where he would rather the first impression be a bad one so  
he would not have to put up with people. He could not help that he was  
shy. Besides, as long as the right people saw through his exterior,  
like Inui and Toshi, that was really all that mattered to Kaidoh.  
Though, he could not give his affection to Inui like he could Toshi…  
Not that he did not want to, but… He was afraid. Rejection. Repulsion.  
Kaidoh was not sure he would ever be able to take it if his sempai  
would turn him away. At least Toshi accepted his feelings without  
question.

Kaidoh was so intent on paying attention to his pet, he did not even  
realize that Inui had turned from his computer to watch him. In his  
mind, Inui knew he should be jealous for some reason. But his heart  
would not let him. Toshi was just a cat. Well, not just a cat, as Inui  
had come to be quite attached to the small creature in the few short  
months that they had shared the same roof. When alone in the  
apartment, Toshi kept him company and seemed to listen to him.  
Normally, Inui kept everything of importance to his mind in his  
notebooks, but his heart… Toshi shared a part of Kaidoh's heart and a  
part of Inui's own. It was the only tender connection they really had,  
and it made Inui feel somewhat better telling Toshi little things  
about Kaidoh, as if his affection for Kaidoh would somehow reach him  
through their shared pet. Besides, there was a 99% chance that Toshi  
would not be able to tell Kaidoh anything about what he said, so he  
felt safe.

The beautiful tableau, however, was broken when Inui's felt the  
tightness in his chest, leading to a coughing spasm. Grabbing a  
handkerchief from his pocket, he coughed into it, bringing up something  
wet. He didn't bother looking at what he had coughed up before folding  
his handkerchief over and shoving it back into his pocket.

"Sempai, that does not sound good at all," Kaidoh said, scowling. "You  
really haven't been taking care of yourself, have you? And telling your  
mother lies, too?"

Inui chuckled. "It's not that bad, Kaidoh. If anything, the worst it  
could be is a cold."

"Sempai…" Kaidoh's voice had a bit of a warning growl in it, much like  
the sound he would make when Inui tried talking him into drinking  
Penal-Tea when he had done nothing wrong to deserve it.

Inui picked up a notebook from beside his computer and moved to sit  
beside Kaidoh on his bed. "I will be okay, Kaidoh. It's just a cough."

"When you get worse, I won't say it, but you will know I told you so,"  
Kaidoh huffed, holding Toshi against his chest as Inui settled beside  
him and opened his notebook.

"Who is the sempai here, Kaidoh? I'm supposed to take care of you, not  
the other way around."

"Hai, but you have to take care of yourself as well, or you can't take  
care of me. You probably stayed in your wet clothes after our run  
Sunday, didn't you? You had that… that thought, and forgot to change  
after being in the rain. That's why you are sick."

Smiling, Inui patted Kaidoh's knee. "You know me better than I thought you did."

"Fffshuuu…" Kaidoh turned his head away in an annoyed fashion to hide  
the blush that colored his cheeks.

"Oh, that sound," Inui said, pointing out the fact that Kaidoh had  
just hissed. "That is a usual sign that you are somewhat frustrated or  
annoyed. Am I annoying you, Kaidoh?"

"A little…" Kaidoh admitted through clinched teeth.

"On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most annoying, what would I be?"

"Eh…?"

"I'm trying to get an idea as to how I should go about drawing the  
aggression out of you. I just want to know what annoys you so that I  
have something to work with," Inui explained.

"Anou… well… I suppose you are… about a… um… three right now, Sempai…?"

Inui began scribbling in his notebook. "Is that usually or just right now?"

"Well… right now. You keep saying you are not sick-"

"Because I'm not-"

"Make that four, Sempai…"

"I'll have to work on getting that level back down, ne? Now, what else  
annoys you?"

"Eto… Momoshiro."

"Anything in particular-"

"Momoshiro in general."

"Aa, of course," Inui smiled to himself, writing in his notebook.

"I don't like… socks, either," Kaidoh ventured ahead. "I would rather  
be barefoot. I don't like shoes all that much, too…"

Nodding, Inui gestured to the slippers that Kaidoh was wearing. that  
were always kept at the Inui household now, just for him. "Just  
because we have them for you, you are welcome to not wear the slippers  
if you don't like them."

Kaidoh looked down at the green slippers. "Eh… Since they are here for  
me, I will wear them."

"But you don't have to."

"But I want to."

"Kaidoh-"

"Five, Sempai."

"I just want you to be comfortable, Kaidoh. Stress is not always good  
for an athlete."

"Sempai…" Inui was sure he had just gone up another notch in being a  
frustration, but then… "Thank you…"

Kaidoh timidly kicked his slippers off, letting them land on the floor  
just under where his feet hung off so that he could put them back on  
later.

Inui smiled at his small victory and scribbled again in his notebook.  
As long as an unusual request was mentioned to be good for his well  
being, Kaidoh will follow, but not without some uncertainty.

"So, tell me more, Kaidoh…"

For somewhere near to over an hour, Inui had extracted over two  
hundred and fifty events, ideas, objects, people, and problems that  
frustrated his kohai. They ranged from small things, like Hazue not  
allowing him to play video games too, which rated a three, to  
Echizen's disrespect to his elders, rating a seven at times, to  
losing a game due to what he referred to as his own stupidity, coming  
in at a definite rating of ten.

"Is that all, Kaidoh?"

If Kaidoh wanted to lie, then yes, he was done. But there was one  
thing that Kaidoh had skirted the whole conversation… and he was  
beginning to feel guilty that he did not include it. Especially  
because… it was something that would indeed ruin his day with a  
frustration level of practically eleven…. Kaidoh turned a violent  
shade of red just thinking about telling his sempai… about just  
thinking of it, period.

"One… one more, S-sempai…."

Inui paused in closing his notebook. "Na, Kaidoh…?"

"I have… I have a really bad… day… if I… if I don't have enough…  
t-time in thebathroominthemonrings…" he blurted, blushing furiously.

Raising a slim eyebrow, Inui looked questioningly at his kohai. "What  
was that?" he asked for clarification.

"I don't… like mornings-"

"Which you rated at an eight in annoying events."

"Hai…" Kaidoh nodded. "But this… I … never mind, Sempai."

"Are you sure, Kaidoh? Because it could potentially create a hole in the data-"

"It's… It's e-embarrassing,…"

Oh. So Inui did hear right. He wanted to chuckle, but he knew that  
would not help Kaidoh at all. "If it helps, you could look the other  
way."

Kaidoh handed Toshi over to sit on his sempai's lap as he turned  
around until his back was facing Inui. It did not help as much as he  
thought it would. "Still embarrassing, Sempai," he said, folding his  
arms across his chest.

"Kaidoh, you know you can trust me with whatever you say."

"Fffshuuu…"

"Angry?"

"Frustrated."

"Level?"

"Anou… eight."

"Why?"

"Because… I can't say it, Sempai! You want me to, but I can't."

"Would it help if I said that I didn't want you to?"

"No. You… you already… Nine, Sempai. Nine."

"Am I always this annoying to you?" Inui asked. In a way, he enjoyed  
watching Kaidoh become so flustered. He was rather… cute, for lack of  
a better word.

"Yes. No! I mean, no…. Your juice is annoying and… the notebook…"

Inui nodded. "Which we have discussed…"

"This is personal, Sempai… This is…"

Kaidoh stood up abruptly and looked around with a hiss. Hesitating at  
first, he moved toward Inui's closet before jerking it open and hiding  
himself inside with a slam.

"I GET REALLY PISSED OFF IF I DON'T GET ENOUGH TIME IN THE BATHROOM IN  
THE MORNING!" he yelled from his hiding place.

Inui began chuckling at the declaration coming from his closet, but it  
quickly turned into coughing. His kohai could hear, almost feel, the  
deep cough coming from in Inui's chest. The closet door sprung open  
and Kaidoh practically tumbled out, an expression of worry flashing  
across his face for just a moment, unseen by his sempai. Unlike the  
few times when Inui had coughed since Kaidoh had arrived, he was  
unable to catch is breath this time. Remembering when Hazue was small  
and coughed from choking on his drink, Kaidoh's mother would blow  
gently in Hazue's face, somehow forcing him to take a breath. Kaidoh  
pulled away the hand holding the handkerchief over Inui's mouth and,  
moving in close enough, he blew air through his mouth and into Inui's  
face. Taking a great gasp, Inui coughed a bit more before he finally  
leaned back against the wall, his chest heaving for air and a pinched  
expression on his face.

"Sempai? Did you want me to get water for you?"

"I'm fine," he rasped.

"I'll tell your mother to call your doctor-"

"Kaidoh, I'm fine."

"You couldn't breath-"

"Kaidoh, please… don't worry about me."

"Sempai, I'm at ten with you right now!"

Inui pat the bed beside him and told Kaidoh to sit, which the Mamushi  
did with a hiss. Toshi, who had escaped to the floor in all the  
excitement, jumped back up to reclaim his place on Kaidoh's lap.

"I'm fine, Kaidoh. I haven't been sick in years. This is probably just  
a cold of some sort. I should be over it in a few days."

"T'ch," was the only response Kaidoh gave, turning his head away in annoyance.

"I've been quite frustrating for you today, haven't I?" Inui asked,  
looking down at his notebook. He had not meant to be, of course, but  
he supposed he was worse than usual this afternoon.

"Fffshuuu… Baka sempai," Kaidoh muttered. He looked to his bare feet,  
thinking of his slippers on the floor. He then looked to Toshi and  
scratched the kitten's head. Blushing faintly, Kaidoh found he could  
not look at his sempai as he said, "You wouldn't be so frustrating if…  
if…" _… if I didn't love you…_ "… if I didn't w-worry about you…"

There was a tightness in Inui's chest now, different than the one that  
had been sitting in there all day, making him cough. "Why would you  
worry about me, Kaidoh?"

"You… you're my sempai… and… my coach… and…" Kaidoh flushed a little  
deeper. "You are my f-friend… So, I should be… allowed to worry  
a-about you…" A scowl formed on Kaidoh's face, as he was rather upset  
with himself for being… mushy. "Fffshuuu… If not, I would have just  
beat your ass like I would Momoshiro." That was much better.

Smiling, Inui nodded. "Of course," he said. A declaration of  
friendship from Kaidoh was less than Inui had really wanted, but it  
was more than he had ever had before. Declarations of friendship was  
something that Kaidoh would never just spout out to anyone. Inui  
leaned a bit to the side so he could bump his shoulder against  
Kaidoh's. "I do believe that I would have to say that you are my  
friend, too."

Kaidoh nodded in acceptance, his eyes averted in shyness. He could  
live with just friendship between them. He could. Because that meant  
that nothing would change from here, and he would still have Inui  
somehow. This was all Kaidoh needed.

"By the way, Kaidoh… Have you ever thought about at night in your bed?"

"Eh?"

"Instead of in the bathroom in the morning."

"Sempai!" Kaidoh's face was a brilliant shade of red.

"Is it just once a day?" Inui asked, picking up his notebook. He  
flipped to a clean section of pages and began writing.

"I'm… I'm not going to tell you!"

"It's a natural body function, Kaidoh. All young men about our age do it-"

"It's disgusting! An-and… and messy!"

Inui adjusted his glasses thoughtfully. "It's not so bad. I find it to  
be quite gratifying, myself. I usually keep a box of tissue by my bed  
for such occasions."

Kaidoh quickly stood up from the bed, taking Toshi with him this time,  
and moved over to Inui's computer chair. Upon noticing another box of  
tissue by Inui's computer, Kaidoh then relocated to the floor.  
Clutching the kitten to his chest, Kaidoh hissed, his face a flaming  
red.

"Hentai, Sempai… You better not be teaching Toshi horrible things…" he  
muttered with a scowl.

"What would I teach him? Being an animal, he moves on instincts. Were  
he to find a female cat in heat, he would-"

Kaidoh tried covering Toshi's ears, and found it hard to cover his own  
at the same time. "Sempai, let's not discuss this. He's just a baby."

"Did you want to let him out the room?" Inui asked, smirking.

"Fffshuuu… Let's not just discuss it at all."

"It is rather important to discuss, actually. You said that you have a  
bad day if… you don't have enough time? Enough time as in… not  
reaching completion?"

"I should have never told you anything…" Kaidoh hissed.

Inui smiled and readjusted his thick glasses, wanting to chuckle.  
"Kaidoh, you act as if it is a bad thing. There is a religion that  
says you will go blind if you do it often, but that has been  
scientifically proven to not be true."

Kaidoh looked to both boxes of tissue, and then at his sempai's  
glasses before averting his gaze back to Toshi. "It's… it's just not…  
something I like to discuss. It's a bit rude, don't you think?"

"I don't suppose you've listened to Momoshiro lately," Inui grinned.  
"He speaks about it as if he had discovered a new continent."

"I don't listen to that kono yarou," growled Kaidoh. "He's such a  
stupid pervert. I don't want to do something that he does."

Grin becoming nervous, Inui had to calculate a way out of this. The  
last thing he wanted was Kaidoh to abstain from… anything sexually  
related.

"Well, I suppose that doing out of duty to your body is a good thing.  
It lowers testosterone levels and lessens feelings of aggression. I  
suggest that you continue to… _ahem_ , do it at least once a day,  
accept for upcoming matches. Perhaps you should… abstain to give  
yourself a bit of an edge. That could be the aggression you may need  
for game play."

"Fffshuuu… Fine. Now that this is over, let's not discuss it again."

Nodding, Inui started coughing again. He brought up a bit more wetness  
into his handkerchief, which made Kaidoh want to gag.

"Get a clean one, Sempai…" said Kaidoh, nose wrinkled in disgust. When  
Inui said he did not have another, Kaidoh was immediately out in the  
hall and fetching his bag. He brought Inui a green bandana, a spare to  
the one he was wearing.

"Take it and get better soon, Inui-sempai."

Inui accepted it with thanks and walked his kohai to the door.

"Leaving so soon?" Sadako asked, poking her head out of the kitchen as  
they walked past.

Kaidoh bowed. "I'm sorry, but I still have my evening run to do. My  
mother will be expecting me home for dinner. Thank you for allowing me  
to stay for the afternoon."

"Kaoru-kun! You are so polite, it's adorable," she gushed, making  
Kaidoh blush furiously. "I do hope you will come back soon. I'll be  
leaving tomorrow morning, but I hope to be back in a few days. I never  
know how long I'm going to be in Tokyo or Osaka when they send me…  
But, yes! Come back soon and take care of Sadaharu. He doesn't listen  
to me!"

"Kaasan…" Inui sighed, rolling his eyes behind his glasses as Kaidoh  
scowled at him.

Picking up Toshi one last time and nuzzling his own nose against the  
kitten's wet pink one, Kaidoh hugged his pet and handed it over to  
Inui. "Good bye, Sempai."

"I'll call you tomorrow," Inui smiled, waving down the hall to Kaidoh  
as his kohai left the apartment building to for his jog.


End file.
